Zilliant Rolls Out SalesMax OnDemand

Price optimization company Zilliant has introducted SalesMax OnDemand, an iteration of its SalesMax product. The new standalone interface is designed to be more user-centric, making it easier for salespeople and others to cross-sell and be aware of opportunities to better retain customers.

SalesMax has previously been used by sales reps through CRM integration or scheduled emails that would send updated lists of opportunities. The product update will offer particular value to customers with homegrown CRM systems who have received SalesMax updates primarily through email. The sales reps "want to access SalesMax data in a way that lets them pull information on demand, rather than waiting for us to push it to them," explains Javier Aldrete, Zilliant's director of product management.

SalesMax OnDemand is built on the Force.com platform, and can be accessed via mobile channels and the Web without going through a CRM system. "We're definitely moving hard into mobile," says Aldrete. Product updates in the spring are scheduled to make Zilliant available on Salesforce1 in the spring, but in the meantime, customers can access Zilliant on the mobile Web through a custom URL.

The features of SalesMax OnDemand include:

• Opportunity prioritization. Instead of receiving a list with just the biggest opportunities at the top, sales reps will have more ways to filter results. "[SalesMax OnDemand] can show top opportunities in Texas, or by product category. It can tie well into corporate initiative where they're trying to push a certain category, or have a rebate from the manufacturer," Aldrete says.
• Insight search and management. Using the new interface, sales reps can actively look for cross-sell and retention opportunities on their client list and use that information to inform their account activities.
• Improved product-level granularity. Previously SalesMax would offer opportunity suggestions at the product level, but a sales rep could only say if the deal was won or lost at the account level. Customers wanted the ability to say that they sold product A and B, they weren't pursuing C, and D was still in the works. With the new version, they'll have the ability to do so. "This is one of our most requested features from our existing customers," Aldrete notes.
• Enhanced oversight for sales managers. Sales managers can oversee the opportunities of sales reps. They can provide feedback, coaching, and measure performance. Providing additional tools for sales managers is part of SalesMax's product development map for 2014.

Zilliant first launched SalesMax in February 2012. The tool is designed for B2B sales teams concentrated in such industries as distribution, manufacturing, and industrial services. It applies predictive analytics to increase revenue and reduce churn rates by identifying gaps on opposite ends of the spectrum: people who may be inclined to buy more of a product and those who may be thinking of turning elsewhere for their needs. "We see a lot of traction with companies that have complexity, like lots of products, customers, or where they're spread out geographically," Aldrete says.

Aldrete describes Zilliant's aim as being "the carrot for the salespeople, the motivator where the CRM system is often the stick." SalesMax is designed to make it easier for salespeople to make more commissions, and he's pleased by user feedback so far. "If we are late by a few minutes [with the SalesMax emails], we start getting phone calls, because that's how they plan their week."

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